Turtle-Tot Tales

Warming up

(This is just a Drabble I thought of at the time. Hope you like it)

Warming up

It had been only three days since the miraculous mutation of the odd family. Hamato Yoshi had spent his first nights with the children huddled beneath a cardboard box he had swiped, from the very alleyway they were mutated in. He would sleep with the four tiny mutants nestled in the fur of his chest with a newspaper draped over them, his arm resting protectively over the bunch and he letting himself bare against the cold. After all, he was warm blooded, the baby turtles although, were obviously not. They hadn't been awake much, they all seemed quite drowsy most of the time, which gave Yoshi time to think easier.

The rat opened his eyes and looked down at the slumbering children, he quickly did a head count to be sure none were missing, thankfully, he was lucky and all were accounted for. He rose to his feet and kept them held firmly against himself, he could easily carry them all with one arm. His eyesight having dimmed only slightly from his rat dna, Yoshi glanced around the tunnel and flicked an ear before judging all was safe for the time being. He folded the box and tied it to his belt that remained around his waist, he hoped to gather a few belongings from his surface home before dawn. So ever so quietly, Hamato Yoshi crept down the tunnel in search of a safe place to hide his newly adopted children. He hadn't an idea of what he would call them yet, but he had a few interesting and unique names in mind.

The rat humanoid soon came upon an abandoned water purification plant. It looked as if it hasn't been used in years, wood chips were splintered around the ground, mildew drenching the walls with sewage latching to the crevices of all corners. It wasn't the most sanitary place, but it looked secure enough. After a few minutes of searching he came across a locker room, he supposed that it was still stable enough. His tail swished from side to side as he pried open a locker, it had a fair amount of room. After gathering up his already torn and unwearable shirt into a comfortable nest, he slowly laid each turtle in one-by-one on their bellies.

Tucking the newspaper over them, he looked at them with a small feeling growing inside of him. It had been so long since he felt this wonderful sensation, the neediness to protect the defenseless and innocent. The one task he had failed to do in his homeland. His ears flattened to his skull as a saddened expression spread over his face. A reflection of his burning home in his pupils made him shake his head quickly and focus on the task at hand. So he gently stroked each of them on the head and frowned at their shivering, "When I return, you will be safe.." He whispered before slowly closing the door, leaving a scratch mark on the handle to indicate which one they were in.

Then at that moment, after taking a few extra precautions, the warrior sprinted from the water purification plant, determined to protect his newly found family without failure. Ever so quietly did he raise up the sewer lid, his eyes squinting to see in the dark. All he saw was a homeless man sleeping on a very dirty mattress, the springs muddled and sticking out in various spots. With a twitch of his whisker, Yoshi swiftly climbed out from his sewer refuge and scurried behind a dumpster. He looked around for places he could travel without being spotted, but the streets were illuminated with street lamps. Then he looked up at the fire escape, inches above his head. That gave Yoshi an idea.

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Half an hour later, Hamato Yoshi had arrived at his apartment. The small apartment was only capable of providing enough living space for one person. It had a bland and boring atmosphere, with gray walls and smelling of jasmine tea and incense. But perhaps that was only because he was still settling down. With a round, retro-style kitchen table and two chairs in the kitchen and only a small amount of room for cooking. Then the main room- which was connected to the kitchen, only divided by the change of tile to carpet in the flooring- contained six floor cushions around a rectangular coffee table. The bedroom was connected to the living room wall in the center, and it was only large enough to fit a twin bed and two chests- along with some personal items. Hamato Yoshi did not have much to bring with him to America of course, he lost nearly all of his belongings to the fire. Only some very special things were salvaged from the ashes of his old home.